Discitum
Discitum is the educational metropolis on the Magi planet of Sirius. With a population of roughly 50,000 to 60,000 depending on students, Discitum is easily the smallest city on Sirius but likely has the largest impact on the whole population. Discitum is located in the southwestern hemisphere of Sirius, in the Forest of Aiga , and is a stopover between the research city of Quaesum and the southern pass through the Caelus mountains. History The origin of the Magi training school in Discitum originated far from the city's location, near the landing site outside of Comtracia. The Magi population settled densely at first, then, upon realizing their safety, slowly spread out to find additional easily habitable locations. Upon finding the elementally-balanced forest location in the southwest, the Magi decided the seclusion with nearby access to the Akean ocean was ideal for establishing a training university. Eventually the needs of the sage instructors led to a town building up around the university, and the town of Discitum was born. Government The Head Sage of the University is also the head of the council that leads the city. Other members of the council include the Ambassador from Caperium, the Mayor of the non-education part of the town, and the Commerce and Transport representative from Comtracia. While the Head Sage has enough influence to govern the city in most circumstances, the weight of the planteray government and commerce ambassadors is enough to keep the Head Sage in line. Demographics While the student population of Discitum fluctuates with time and demand, the permanent population is fairly steady at 35,000. This consists of roughly 10,000 to work at the university, another 10,000 in the businesses of the city, and 5,000 spouses and children. Layout The original university resides in the far north of the city, but as needs required university buildings expanded throughout the city. The majority of the west of the city is dedicated to training grounds, one in the form of an outdoor stadium and one a modular warehouse. There are Magi government buildings at the roads into Discitum on the east and west, as well as a tower in the northeast for receiving authority figures or VIPs. University The Magi university is somewhat different than the universities on Earth before the Division. Magi are sent to the university between the ages of 8 and 15, whenever they first show signs of being able to split elements and manipulate their environment. If they reach the age of 15 without leaving for the university, a local magus tests the child, and if potential is found, the child goes to the university; otherwise, they are excluded from training and find a trade to ply. While it's rare for a Magi to not have the ability to train in element manipulation, perhaps one in 25 never progresses enough to significantly affect the environment. Once in the university, the pattern of study is similar to old Earth universities: a general course of studies offers a wide variety of elemental manipulations. As a student magus masters particular skills, they are given additional challenges, until the student chooses a life path. This could include specializing in a particular element, dedicating to a balanced study of all three, or leaving the university to work in some non-elemental capacity. One other path also is available to a training magus: seeking to embrace an element and become an elemental. However, the education at the university is driven by the scholarly Magi, and choosing the path of the Naturalist is considered borderline heresy by most. As a magus chooses to continue in the university after obtaining some level of competency, they begin study under a particular sage or group of sages. The sages determine the course of study and develop progressive tests that culminate in the student magus being granted full Magi status and re-integrating into society. Most Magi leave the university fully trained by relativeley early age, between 30 and 35.